Buttigieg swipes Sanders: 'I was a big fan... when I was 18 years old'

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South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg knocked Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., on Thursday, saying that he was a "big fan" of his when he was "18 years old."

"CBS This Morning" hosts pressed Buttigieg about the wave of young voters favoring the 78-year-old Sanders over candidates including "Mayor Pete," who's 37.

"Is there a way in which you're out of touch with your own generation?" Tony Dokoupil asked the presidential hopeful.

"No," Buttigieg responded, "but it is certainly the case that often, younger candidates tend to attract more support from older voters, but we are building a coalition that's gonna draw voters from every part of this country."

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Dokoupil then cited a South Carolina poll that showed him with single-digit support among voters under 44, which the anchor noted was "almost as bad as" his low support among minority voters in that state. Buttigieg pushed back, pointing to a "continued process" to earn more support.

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"It's certainly the case that many of the younger voters are more attracted to, for example, you know, the Sanders campaign definitely has more young voters," Buttigieg continued. "I was a big fan of Bernie Sanders when I was 18 years old."

He added, "It's also the case that we are pulling together a coalition to talk about issues like climate, to act on issues like climate and guns and the economy, that the longer you're planning to be here, the more you have at stake. And, young voters have to mobilize in a way that hasn't happened before in order to defeat this president."